MP for Redditch, Karen Lumley, has welcomed the Government’s commitment to creating apprenticeships at the launch of National Apprenticeship Week 2016.
She said the growing number of people in her constituency starting apprenticeships demonstrated that the Government is delivering on its manifesto commitments.
The theme for this year’s National Apprenticeship Week is that an apprenticeship can take you anywhere, as a growing number of young people are looking to an apprenticeship as an alternative route to going to university.
Karen said: “Apprenticeships make sense for young people across Redditch, which is why 5,220 new apprentices have started since May 2010 and over 2.6 million new apprenticeships have started across England.
“I want to give young people the chance to get the skills they need to get on in life. That’s why I am supporting the Government’s commitment to create three million apprenticeships by 2020 and congratulate every college and business locally that has taken on an apprentice.
“The Government is driving up the standards of apprenticeships and introducing new routes into the professions. The opportunity to earn and learn is why we’ve already seen 315,000 new apprenticeships created in the West Midlands since May 2010. These recent figures show we are making progress towards our goal.”
The Government also plans to launch the new independent, employer-led, Institute for Apprenticeships. The Institute will regulate the quality of apprenticeships in England, taking on responsibility for approving new apprenticeship standards and assessment plans. Only standards that are valued by employers will be approved and funded.
National Apprenticeship Week 2016 runs until March 18. Find out more about the week and how you can get involved at gov.uk/naw2016 .
